California · Handbook chapter 7 · 8 min read

Chapter 7: Safe driving

Scanning, following distance and blind spots, the Basic Speed Law, night driving, skids, rain, snow, fog and wind, emergencies such as blowouts and stalls on railroad tracks, cell phone rules and carbon monoxide. Study notes for the California DMV knowledge test.

Why this chapter matters

Safe-driving questions test judgment as much as rules: what to do in a skid, how far to slow down on ice, when to use high beams. The handbook gives specific numbers for many of these, and those are the ones to learn.

Know what is around you

• Scan at least 10 seconds ahead so you have time to react.
• Use the three-second rule: when the vehicle ahead passes a fixed point, count three seconds. If you reach the point before you finish, you are too close.
• If someone cuts in close in front of you, ease off the accelerator to open the gap.
• Leave more space when a tailgater is behind you (keep your speed and course, then move right when safe so they can pass) and when following a motorcycle on metal surfaces, tracks or gravel.
• Do not linger in another driver's blind spot or drive alongside other vehicles. Make room for vehicles entering the freeway, even when you have the right-of-way.
• Look both ways even when cross traffic has a red light or STOP sign.

Blind spots

Every vehicle has them, usually at the sides slightly behind you. Check by turning your head to look over each shoulder, without turning your body or the wheel. Check before you change lanes, turn, merge, back up, leave a parking space, parallel park, pull away from the curb or open your door.

What is behind you

Check your mirrors and turn your head often, especially before you change lanes, slow down, turn into a side road or driveway, pull into a parking space, pull to or from the curb, or back up.

The Basic Speed Law

In California you may never drive faster than is safe for current conditions, whatever the posted limit. Your safe speed depends on how much traffic there is and how fast it is moving, the road surface, bicyclists and pedestrians, and the weather (rain, fog, snow, wind or dust).

Unless signs say otherwise, the handbook gives 65 mph as the ideal maximum speed limit on most California highways, and 55 mph on two-lane undivided highways and for vehicles towing trailers. The Basic Speed Law can still require you to go slower.

Choosing between hazards

When there are dangers on both sides, deal with one at a time and give more room to the bigger danger. For example, with an oncoming car on your left and a bicyclist ahead on your right, slow down, let the car pass, then move left to give the bicyclist at least three feet.

Road conditions

Night driving

• Use high beams on open country roads and dark city streets, but dim them for oncoming drivers. Never use them where they are illegal.
• Drive slowly enough to stop within the distance your headlights light up.
• If an oncoming driver's lights dazzle you, look toward the right edge of your lane and watch the vehicle from the corner of your eye. Do not answer with your own high beams.
• Use low beams in rain. Never drive on parking lights alone.
• Pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcycles are much harder to see at night. Road work may also happen at night.
• After leaving a brightly lit place, drive slowly until your eyes adjust.
• If a vehicle with one light approaches, keep well to the right: it may be a bicycle, a motorcycle or a car with a headlight out.

Sun glare

Keep the windshield clean inside and out, wear polarized sunglasses, keep your visor clear, leave extra space, watch for pedestrians and, where possible, avoid driving at sunrise and sunset.

Slippery roads

• Shaded spots, bridges and overpasses freeze first.
• Roads are especially slippery when rain first starts, because oil and dust have not yet washed away, particularly after a long dry spell.
• In heavy rain or snow, if you cannot see farther than 100 feet, it is not safe to drive faster than 30 mph.
• In snow country, carry the right snow chains for your vehicle.

Skids

Slippery-surface skid: slowly take your foot off the accelerator, do not brake, steer in the direction of the skid and try to get a wheel onto dry pavement. To avoid one, slow down before curves and intersections, avoid sudden turns and stops, and shift to a low gear before a steep downhill.

Locked-wheel skid (usually from braking too hard at speed):

• Four-wheel ABS: press the brake firmly.
• Rear-wheel ABS: ease off the brake just enough for the front wheels to roll so you can steer.
• Front-wheel ABS: release the brake, steer where you want to go and straighten as the vehicle straightens.
• No ABS: pump the brakes quickly until you reach a safe speed.

If a brake pedal sinks to the floor, pump it, shift down, then try the emergency brake. Dry wet brakes by pressing the accelerator and brake lightly together, briefly.

Hydroplaning

Your tires ride on a film of water and lose contact with the road. Drive slowly, steer around standing water and slow down if you hear sloshing. If it happens, slow down gradually and do not brake.

Stuck in snow or mud

Shift into low gear with the wheels straight, accelerate gently without spinning the wheels, then rock forward and back until you roll free. In deep snow or mud, put boards or branches under the tires, but only while the vehicle is stopped.

Floods, wind, fog and smoke

• Flooded roads: you cannot judge depth by looking. Find another route if possible; if you must cross, go slowly and test your brakes afterward.
• High winds: slow down, hold the wheel firmly, watch for debris and do not use cruise control. Consider pulling over until it passes.
• Fog or heavy smoke: better to postpone the trip. If you must drive, go slowly with low beams (high beams reflect back as glare), never on parking or fog lights alone, increase following distance, avoid passing and listen for traffic. If it gets too thick, pull off the road and turn on your flashers.

Police traffic breaks

An officer with emergency lights on weaves slowly across the lanes to slow traffic. Turn on your flashers, slow gradually to the officer's speed, keep your distance and do not pass the patrol car until it turns off its lights.

Handling emergencies

• Tire blowout: hold the wheel with both hands, keep your speed if safe, ease off the accelerator gradually, steer to stabilize, then slow down and pull off when safe. Do not brake hard.
• Wheels drift off the pavement: grip the wheel, take your foot off the accelerator, brake gently, check traffic behind, then steer carefully back on. Do not jerk the wheel.
• Overheating: in extreme heat, watch the temperature gauge, avoid long fast stretches and turn off the air conditioner.
• Breakdown on the freeway: pull onto the right shoulder, get out on the right if you must leave the car, call 511 or use a call box, and wait inside with your seat belt on. It can be safer to get out and stay away from the vehicle when there is not enough room on the shoulder, when there is a guardrail, or when there is a safe area away from the freeway lanes.
• CHP Freeway Service Patrol offers free help in some areas at commute times: a gallon of gas, a jump start, radiator refill and hose taping, a tire change, or a free tow to a CHP-approved spot. It will not tow to a private shop or home, or tow motorcycles.
• Stalled on railroad tracks with a train coming: get out immediately and run away from the tracks diagonally, toward the direction the train is coming from, then call 911. With no train in sight, get out, call the number on the crossing post or control box with the crossing number, then call 911.

Distractions and cell phones

• Driving while holding a cell phone is illegal. Adults may use a phone only in hands-free mode, and only when necessary.
• Let calls go to voicemail; pull safely off the road to make one. Do not read or send texts or emails.
• A phone must be mounted on the windshield, dashboard or center console without blocking your view, and used with a single swipe or tap.
• Drivers under 18 may not use a cell phone or other wireless device to take calls or to send or answer texts while driving. The only exception is calling for emergency help.

Carbon monoxide

It is a deadly, odorless gas from the exhaust of gas-powered vehicles. Never run the engine in a closed garage. Tiredness, yawning, dizziness, nausea, headache and ringing in the ears are warning signs; have your exhaust checked.